The draft Welsh Ministers (Transfer of Functions) (Railways) Order 2018 has been laid in Parliament.

Published 28 February 2018From: Department for Transport and Jo Johnson MP

The transfer of rail services to the Welsh government has taken a significant step forward with the laying of a draft order in Parliament.

The draft order was laid before Parliament today (28 February 2018) and will, subject to approval from MPs, Lords and the Privy Council, devolve the procurement and management of Wales and Borders franchise train services within Wales. This follows detailed discussions between the Department for Transport and the Welsh Government on how powers will be devolved to Welsh ministers.

The agreement also takes into account the fact that many of the franchise services operate on both sides of the border between England and Wales and includes safeguards to protect all passengers using these routes.

Rail Minister Jo Johnson said:This is a positive and significant step in the franchise devolution process and is an example of the effective cooperation between the UK and Welsh governments.

The devolution of these powers delivers on recommendations made by the Commission on Devolution in Wales and demonstrates the commitment we made as a government in the 2015 St Davidís Day Agreement.

Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Transport Ken Skates said:I welcome this recognition of the extensive nature of the cross-border services - and services wholly within England - provided by the Wales and Borders franchise and the need for appropriate accountability for rail operations on each side of the border.

It will be important for devolution of funding for Network Rail to be delivered in the future and I will continue dialogue with the Department for Transport to that end.

As well as continuing with present franchise funding arrangements, the UK government will also provide an extra £125 million towards upgrading the Valley Lines, part of the Welsh Governmentís metro project in South Wales.

The draft Welsh Ministers (Transfer of Functions) (Railways) Order 2018 was laid before Parliament following formal approval by Welsh ministers. It will go before the Commons and Lords for scrutiny.

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Out of this nettle, Danger, we pluck this flower, Safety.[Henry IV, Part 1, Act 2, Scene 3]

The company said it was a great opportunity and promised the railway "would be unrecognisable" in five years time.

Full details of KeolisAmey's plans for Wales will not be revealed until next month.

I expect we'll have some further concern about UK rail operation by overseas railway companies and governments:

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Keolis is France's largest private sector public transport operator - but it is three-quarters owned by SNCF, the French state railway.

Amey was a listed UK company until it suffered a Carillion-style collapse 15 years ago. It was then bought by the Spanish infrastructure giant Ferrovial, which is the key shareholder and manager of Heathrow airport.

Sounds like there may be some growth in this franchise:

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Transport for Wales (TfW) - which is advising the Welsh Government on the contract - said the new franchise holder will be held to account on issues like punctuality, cleanliness and service quality - or they will not get paid.

But there will be challenges ahead in terms of rising passenger numbers, which have nearly doubled in the last 15 years.

Since Arriva started running the franchise, passenger journeys have risen from 18m in 2003 to more than 30m a year in 2017, but the contract with Arriva was based on zero growth in usage - which means they are stuck with the same number of trains they had in 2003.

This has led to complaints about overcrowding and ageing carriages.

Economy Secretary Ken Skates said: "Throughout the procurement process we have prioritised investment in the quality of trains, stations and services for the Wales and Borders Rail Service and South Wales Metro.

"We are grateful to all those who have participated in the procurement process."

He said no further comment would be made until the end of the 10-day standstill period.

Alistair Gordon, chief executive of Keolis UK, said it would be a transformative new rail service for Wales and its borders and see it combine its worldwide expertise in passenger operations with Amey's "engineering excellence".

Both politicians and the rail operator alike will hope the system will be the most attractive option for travellers.

TfW will regulate fares and they will not be expected to rise more than inflation.

But new trains might take at least a couple of years to appear.

Andy Milner, Amey's chief executive, said: "While the proposed changes won't happen overnight, the railway will be unrecognisable in five years thanks to the vision of the Welsh Government."

He added that they would be focused on working with TfW to transform the existing infrastructure and introduce new trains to "significantly improve the passenger experience" as well as creating hundreds of new jobs and apprenticeships.

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Coffee Shop Admin, Member of Melksham Rail User Group, on the board of TravelWatch SouthWest and some more things besides

Not in Welsh either. French, Dutch, German, and Cantonese would probably have been of more use.

The issues for bidders are electrification, infrastructure responsibility, Pacer replacements, shortage of rolling stock, and the so-called South Wales Metro scheme meant to integrate heavy and light rail and buses.

....and I'm 100% certain we will get all of the cast off rolling stock...

Very likely if HMG continue to gift direct awards to GWR.

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Time flies by when you're a driver of a train, Speeding out of Trumpton with a cargo of cocaine.

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